General

While many wireless carriers have tried the money back guarantee before as a way to encourage customers to walk-in and make the switch to their networks only to quickly abandon the program it appears as if Sprint is taking this idea to a whole new level. Recently Sprint announced they will be starting a “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back” program that they currently do not have any intentions of ever axing.

This new money back program will enable customers to open up a new line of Sprint service for 30 days and if they are not satisfied with it they will get reimbursed for the device they purchased, activation fee, get the early termination fee waived, get a full refund for the service plan monthly recurring charge and get all associated taxes and Sprint surcharges associated with these charges waived. That is certainly an impressive deal that is sure to entice a few customers to make the switch to Sprint. Having the ability to essentially test a new phone on the Sprint network is a huge incentive to all mobile device customers. Since Sprint will be refunding every possible penny you could have spent to join their network it will really be a no brainer for people who are shopping around for a new wireless network to go ahead and try out some of Sprint’s new phones.

With the impending release of their 4G network I am sure that many mobile device consumers will be lining up to get their hands on a new Sprint phone when their current contracts are up. Having the chance to test drive a 4G for free with this money back guarantee will be too enticing for some people and I know I will certainly be giving Sprint a try when my contract ends.

Verizon Wireless recently announced that it will open its own mobile phone applications store on March 29th. The announcement was made this week at the CTIA Wireless convention in Las Vegas. This is an interesting move by Verizon as they are entering an already well established market. Rival companies such as Apple and Google currently already operate their own versions of app stores for the iPhone and various Android based phones.

The aspect of the Verizon app store that is going to be different and hopefully will differentiate Verizon from their competitors is the ability to pay for apps using your cell phone bill instead of having to create a new account for the app store. Currently the way the other app stores works is that a consumer will need to set up an entirely new account to use with the app store and are billed separately. With Verizon’s new store users will be able to make purchases as they please and will just see the charges appear on their monthly cell phone bill which will make paying for the new apps a breeze from your unlocked cell phone.
With big name brands already entrenched in the mobile app store market it will be interesting to see how Verizon makes their initial splash. I will be interested to see how the ability to pay for the apps with your monthly cell phone bill will be received by current Verizon consumers. It certainly does seem to make it much easier to browse the app store and make purchases when all you need to do is confirm your purchase. However, after an initial account set up this is how the other app stores work so there will not be that much difference between the three big app stores.

One of the more exciting booths at the recent CTIA Wireless convention in Las Vegas was the booth set up by AT&T. AT&T took advantage of the CTIA Wireless convention to showcase the new U-Verse mobile service and the corresponding app. The app that is set for release on the Apple iPhone will allow customers to watch content from their U-Verse DVR home setup directly on their mobile device. Customers will also be able to browse television schedules and set recordings for their home DVR. Then those videos can then be streamed to either a mobile phone or a connected laptop.

AT&T has long allowed customers to remotely program their DVR but not the carrier is showcasing the streaming capabilities of the U-Verse Mobile service. While pricing and specific availability for the new U-Verse app have not been released AT&T has made it clear that the app will not be exclusive to the iPhone. This service is expected to be released later this year and is sure to be a hit with all of AT&T’s U-Verse subscribers.

AT&T’s new U-Verse app is just another example of the fantastic advancements we are making with our mobile devices. It should be pretty amazing to have the capabilities to record your favorite television shows or movies in your home and be able to take those programs with you wherever you go with your mobile device. This can be the perfect app for those of us who are regularly on the go and do not have time to sit around and watch television. We can just record the shows that we would like to see and watch them whenever we want wherever we want on our unlocked mobile devices. This is one of the newest apps that I am really looking forward to its release.

Coming this spring Verizon Wireless consumers will have the chance to bill online content directly to their cell phone bills. Verizon is set to utilize Danal’s BilltoMobile service that will allow mobile device users to charge any online content they download right to their Verizon bills. A secure connection and integration between Verizon Wireless and Danal will provide features important to online consumers and merchants, including robust subscriber authentication and fraud protection, among others.

The mobile payment service will feature a $25-per-month spending limit for these purchases, along with content and parental controls for individual accounts, giving account owners the ability to manage their BilltoMobile usage. When available, customers with text messaging-enabled phones will be able to shop quickly, securely and conveniently for Verizon Wireless-approved content at online stores, including game sites, social networks and virtual worlds. Users will also be able to purchase subscriptions to popular online games.

The BilltoMobile payment service is simple for consumers. To conduct a transaction, consumers click on the BilltoMobile button during checkout at a participating online Web site and then input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for subscriber authentication. A text message is then sent to consumers’ unlocked mobile phones with a one-time passcode. Once consumers input this passcode into the online checkout window, the transaction is completed. The entire process takes about 15 seconds, and there is no pre-registration or links to credit cards or bank accounts required.

This sounds like a great addition to power unlocked cell phone users on the Verizon network. The BilltoMobile program will offer consumers a safe and quick way to purchase products or online content directly from their mobile devices. This is just another step in the direction of being able to use your mobile devices for much more things than just making phone calls and sending text messages.

In an announcement to their premier customers Sprint released an account alert asking their customers to “visit us tomorrow for an exciting announcement about a groundbreaking new device.” No other details were provided but it is rumored that that this “groundbreaking new device” is the long rumored WiMAX smarphone. This new WiMAX smartphone known as the HTC Supersonic comes equipped with a 4.3 inch screen and Android 2.1 with Sense UI.

Releasing a 4G device would certainly fit the “groundbreaking” category and there have already been plans to unveil the phone at CTIA. There was a web chat transcript that was found on the Sprint Community that seems to corroborate. In this web chat an interested consumer asks customer support if a new Android device is going to hit the market soon. The customer support rep does in fact confirm that a new smartphone device is going to be available very soon.

The announcement of this new phone is a welcome sight to any consumers who were waiting for a new Android phone to hit the market. This new HTC Supersonic is supposedly going to be one of the most high powered phones on the market today. The 4.3 inch screen will make surfing the web and browsing through contacts and music a breeze. Also, this new mobile device is going to be part of the Android 2.1 OS which is supposed to be much more powerful than the original Android OS.

I know that I am quite excited to see what this potentially new unlocked cell phone is actually going to be and what this new announcement is all about. If it is in fact going to be an announcement about the new HTC Supersonic than you can expect Sprint CEO Dan Hesse to talk about this in his keynote speech on Wednesday at CTIA.

Kyocera has finally decided to enter the Android market by announcing their first Android phone the Zio M6000. The Zio will ship with Android version 1.6. The Zio is a tri-band CDMA EVDO Rev. Which is a handset that supports the 800/1700/1900MHz bands. By utilizing these three bands this makes the Zio compatabile with networks operated by Sprint, Verizon and smaller networks such as Cricket. Other features of the new Android phone by Kyocera include WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. The Zio comes with a 3.5 inch WVGA screen with 800 x 480 pixels. The Zio also features a 3.2 megapixel camera with dedicated camera key and video capture at 30 frames per second. Additional features include a digital compass, accelerometer and support for microSD cards up to 32GB.

While it is still unknown when any US carriers will offer the Zio it is safe to say that Kyocera is looking to make quite the splash in the Android market. For their first Android phone the Zio is set to be one of the better Android phones on the market. With all of the features that come standard with this particular model the Zio is expected to be a hit in both the US and foreign markets. I am especially excited to check out the digital compass and video capture camera. There are two pretty cool features that most mobile devices do not currently have.

For their first Android phone it appears as if Kyocera has hit a homerun with the Zio. I will be expecting big things out of them in the future when they learn what more of their consumers are looking for and can incorporate those wishes into newer and more powerful Android phones and for unlocked cell phones.

Everyone with an ounce of app development experience has come up with something for either the iPhone or the Android, and even the FCC is getting in on the fun. The purpose of the app, according to their website, is to “provide Americans with additional information about their mobile data connection and create awareness about the mobile broadband connection quality. While some people might understandably be concerned with an app designed by the Feds installed on their phone, all the app really does is monitor data upload and download speeds. The FCC is set to release a new national broadband plan on 3/16, which will stress the need for improved cell phone data networks.

The data collected through this app will analyze geographical coverage and quality throughout the United States, essentially providing them an auditing tool for cell phone carrier claims and commercial coverage maps. It will also, quite simply, allow the user to see what kind of data speed they are getting from their cell phone carrier in specific locations. You can also find out the speed of your broadband connection by either turning on your cell phone WiFi, or checking out Broadband.gov. This information generally isn’t as valuable for you as the end user, as you can’t move a fixed connection for better coverage as you can with a cell phone.

Tests were recently conducted by the FCC in Seattle and Los Angeles, using a number of phones and carriers, and the results were a little surprising. Verizon’s Droid in Seattle blew away all other results, registering 3G speeds of 1.71 MBPS downloads and .82 MBPS uploads. The iPhone in Los Angeles came in with speeds of 1.35 MBPS downloads and .21 uploads, while Google’s Nexus One on T-Mobile in Seattle came in significantly slower at .29 MBPS downloads and .35 MBPS uploads.

Recently Verizon Wireless and Skype have announced that they will be joining forces and offer Skype’s application to unlocked mobile phone users over the wireless 3G network. With this easy to use offer Verizon 3G customers who have a data plan can use Skype mobile to:

- Make and receive unlimited Skype to Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the globe.

- Call international numbers at competitive Skype Out calling rates

- Send and receive instant messages to other Skype users

- Remain always connected with the ability to see friends’ online presence

With this new feature Verizon Wireless is basically extending their customer’s unlimited calling community to anyone who uses Skype around the globe. With Skype quickly becoming one of the most popular instant messaging and VoIP programs on the internet this partnership is a great move for both Skype and Verizon Wireless to help grow the Skype brand.

Since many people will want to be continuously connected to their Skype conversations and friend list having the ability to carry these conversations on your mobile phone, like the Sony Ericsson Aspen, is a very logical step. Also, since Verizon Wireless will be rolling out this partnership over the 3G network there should be great reliability for anyone who will be using the Skype platform for their competitive international calling rates.

It will be interesting to see if any of the other mobile phone carries follow in Verizon’s footsteps and add Skype’s features to their network in the near future.

On the heels of their recent announcement regarding the upcoming rollout of the highly anticipated 4G network Verizon Wireless’s CTO Anthony Melone has targeted next summer as the time frame for the carrier’s first LTE handset release. While the aforementioned 4G network is expected to be ready by the end of this year all of us tech junkies will have to wait a little longer for the first unlocked cell phone handset.

It should be well worth the wait though as these new mobile devices are expected to have the same downloading and uploading speed as your home computer. In the current test markets in Boston and Seattle engineers were blown away by the results they were seeing which is a great sign for the possibilities to come. Also, videos will be able to be seen in 1080p high definition which should really revolutionize the way people consume video content on their mobile devices.

There is one bit of bad news that is expected to come with the awesome power of the new 4G network. It appears that Verizon and even AT&T are headed down the path of eliminating unlimited data plans and moving to a tiered structure. While it does make sense for these companies to charge people for the amount of data they download or even upload it is still a bummer that we finally get some great internet speeds on our mobile devices like the Blackberry Pearl but will have to pay more to fully enjoy them.

Looking at comScore’s January quarter cell phone manufacturer and platform market share statistics in the United States, we see some interesting trends. Despite a sharp decrease in global sales, Motorola mobile devices surprisingly still maintains a 22.9% market share of American cell phone subscribers. They saw a 1.2% decrease since October 2009, which is strange considering the release of the success of the Droid in recent months. Considering Motorola’s lack of smart phone offerings, it tells you that the smart phone does not quite dominate the cell phone market as much as one might expect. Samsung recently claimed to hold the number one spot in U.S. market share, but as with any claim, you need to take with a grain of salt and dig a little deeper. When referring to total sales, and not current subscribers, this claim could be feasible, as there are still a huge number of legacy RAZR phones floating around and inflating these numbers.

Looking at the other popular smart phone manufacturers and platforms, Blackberry, iPhone, and Android all saw gains this quarter, while Palm and Windows Mobile each saw large downturns. Regarding the decreases, it seems as though most can be attributed to a large number of Palm OS and WinMO phone subscribers coming off their contracts. At this point, at the tail end of two year contracts, those operating systems are antiquated at best. It’s well known that WinMo is well past its expiration date, with most people who used Windows Mobile heading to the Droid, iPhone, or Blackberry.

Blackberry and iPhone still dominate the smartphone landscape, but it seems like Droid is determined to steal some market share, as they’ve already gained 4.3% since it was released in November 2009. It will be interesting to see if the Droid can continue to win over loyal iPhone and Blackberry users in the next quarter.